Roller cotton-gin.



No. 832,707. PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

A. D. THOMAS.

ROLLER COTTON GIN.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG.11, 1905.

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No. 832.707. PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906. A. D. THOMAS.

ROLLER COTTON GIN.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG.11, 1905.

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UNT-TED STATES PATENT oEEroE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oct. 9, 190e.

Application filed August ll, 1905, Serial No. 273,738.

To all whom it r11/ty concern:

Be it known that I, ABNER D. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Little Rock, in the county of Pulaski and State of Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Roller Ootton-Gins, of which t e following is a specification.

The invention lto be hereinafter described relates to cotton-gins, and more particularly to that general type known in the art as roller-gine.

It is a well-known fact that in the operation of the ordinary roller-gin, wherein a 1rapidly-revolving combing-roller is employed adjacent to the usual ginning-roller, much of the iiber detached from the seed becomes broken and its quality impaired, and some grinding of the seeds themselves occurs.` I have found by extensive experiments and observations that if the lint-bearing seed are brought into contact with the ginning-roller uniformly and fairly well separated and pressed gently against its acting surface by a somewhat yielding instrumentality, all breaking of the fiber is avoided, and each individual seed is thoroughly denuded.

Vith the above general observations and others in view the object of the present invention is to provide a construction of roller-gin wherein the seed will be presented to the ginning-roller in a fairly well separated or individualized condition and gently pressed against the same, to the end that the entire seed mass may be thoroughly denuded and the fiber secured without impairment by reason of breakage.

rlhe present invention has other general objects in view, as will hereinafter appear; and it consists of the parts and combinations hereinafter described, and definitely pointed out in the claims. ,l

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a roller cotton-gin embodying one form of the present invention, much of the framework being omitted for identification; and Fig. 2 is a like view of a modified form of device.

The ginning-roller A may be of usual construction, preferably having a roughened surface a, formed of felt, Walrus-hide, or the like, to which liber will readily adhere, said roller being adapted for rotation, as usual, in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. Disposed adjacent the ginning-roller is the knife-bar B, having its edge in close proximity to the surface of the roller A, so that while it will permit fiber to pass between its edge and the surface of roller A the seed will be held back in the well-known manner.

Below the ginning-roller A a brush O may be placed, if desired, to remove the fiber from the ginning-roller A, said brush, as usual, rotating in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, and being preferably placed in a lintflue C, leading to a suitable collector or condenser, Which is Well understood by those familiar with the art and forming no part of the present invention need not be further described or shown.

Disposed in front of the ginning-roller A is the endless rough-surfaced apron D, suitably supported and operated by pulleys D D or the like, which serve to move the surface of the apron contiguous to the ginning-roller in the same direction as the surface of said ginningroller, as shown by the arrows. be noted that the surface of the apron is made rough, as at d, and this may be secured in various ways, so as to secure a proper feed of the lint-bearing seed to the section of the ginning-roller adjacent to the knife B.

In order that the apron D may effectively maintain a uniform separated condition of the lint-bearing seed as it feeds the same to the ginning-roller A, the said apron D is preferably inclosed within a suitable casing, as shown in Fig. l, the same comprising the backing-board E and the front board E, these being disposed substantially parallel to the adjacent runs of the apron, as shown, whereby a layer of the separated lint-seed being caught by the apron D may be carried downward by the apron and be maintained in a fairly uniform and individualized cone dition, so that each seed may be successively treated by the roller D and denuded of its liber while held gently against the roller A. It is preferable that there be some yield of the apron D adjacent that section A of the ginning-roller where the lint-seed is treated, and as one means of Securing this result the lower roller D is by preference placed slightly below this section A of said roller.

Disposed below the lower-turn of the apron D and below the lower roller D are a series of separated slats or rods cZ, constituting, in effect, a screen, between the bars or slats of which the seed after having been denuded of its lint will pass and fall to the lower part of the casing, where it will be acted on by a conveyer D2 and delivered from the machine. Should, however, the seed not be thoroughly It will ITO denuded of its lint or fiber, it will not pass between the slats or rods d, constituting the screen, but will be carried by the apron D upward between it and the front board E 'and then down again between the backingboard E and the apron to be further treated by the ginning-roller.

The lintseed may be delivered to the above-described roller-gin from any suitable source, and as one illustration thereof there is shown in Fig. 1 an upper casing E2, containing a belt c for conveying the lint-bearing seed to a brush e, from which it may be d elivered in a well-understood manner to the apron D, as hereinbefore stated. I have found,however,that better results are secured by feeding the lint-bearing seed between a series of feed-rollers F F F2, which are driven progressively at increased speeds that is to say, the rollers F will be rotated slower than rollers F and rollers F slower than rollers F2, such progressively-increased speed to the lower roller F 2 being communicated by means of suitable belting F3, as indicated in Fig. 1.

By the above-described progressively-increased speed of the feed-rollers the lint-bearing seed mass is separated and formed into a sheet or layer, so that when it reaches the apron D the latter more effectively maintains this sheet-like or uniform separated condition of the lint-bearing seed and carries such layer or sheet form of said seed between itself and the backing-board E to be delivered to the ginning-roller A at the ginningpoint A.

From the above-described construction, as illustrating one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that one of the essentials is that the seed be delivered to the ginning-roller in a uniformly separated and individualized condition, that it be gently pressed by a yielding action against the ginning-roller adjacent the knife, whereby all breakage of fiber is overcome and the seed practically deunded of its fiber, which latter passes between the knife and ginning-roller for collection as desired, and the seed passes through the screen to the screw D2 to be delivered from the machine. As before stated, any seed not properly denuded would be carried up and reginned. It will be understood, of course, that any variations may be suggested in the details of construction shown and described without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In Fig. 2 is shown the subject-matter of Fig. 1 arranged in duplicate, the only alteration in the device being in the character of casing to constitute the two backing-boards E0 and E10 and the formation of the screen by the bars d below the lower rollers D. As a slightly further modified condition, it will be noticed that the feed-rollers F F F 2 in this duplicate arrangement of Fig. 2 are disposed within the same general casing E12 and that the feed-aprons e and brushes e deliver into said single casing E12.

The operation of the device in Fig. 2 is of course identical with that of Fig. 1 and differing, as hereinbefore stated, in being a mere duplication with a somewhat-modified form of casing structure and the disposition of parts therein, so that any seed not properly deprived of its lint by the ginning-rollers A will be carried by the two aprons D D between their contiguous runs upward over the upper rollers D and then between their outside runs and the two Walls Eo and E10 of the casing to be reginned.

Of course'it will be understood that some modifications may be made in the details of structure without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As is well understood by those skilled in the art, cotton-seed vary in size according to the character of cotton being ginned, and for 'this reason it is desirable that the rods d cZ, forming the screen and between which it is intended the seed shall pass after being denuded of its fiber, be adjustable toward and from each other, and such adjustment may be effected in any desired mannen-as, for instance, by providing slots d2 in the rodsupports. It may occasionally be desirable to clean the space between the screen and lower portion of the apron D, for which purpose the supports for the rods d d may be formed as shown in Fig. l-that is, they may be curved strips d3 d3, connected to the casing at the point d4, so as to swing about said point, the upper rods d d Aof each section of the support serving as such hinge or pivot connection with the casing. Likewise hinged to the casing E, Fig. 1, is a hand-lever d5, connected by a link d6 with the arms d d, rigid with the respective sections of the screen, a suitable slot being vprovided at the connection between the link d6 and arms d to permit the arms to be lowered, and thus separate the two sections of the screen, so that the space above may be cleaned. Of course various modifications may be made in this feature of the device without departing from the essentials of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a roller-gin, the combination of a ginning-roller, and knife-bar, of means for feeding fiber-bearing seed in a uniform and substantially separated condition to said ginning-roller and maintaining the seed in yielding contact therewith to enable the fiber to be removed from the seed without breaking the fiber.

2. In a roller-gin, the combination of a ginning-roller, and knife-bar, an apron for feeding fiber-bearing seed to the ginningroller and knife-bar in a substantially uniico IIO

form and separated condition and maintaining the same in yielding contact therewith, and a backing-board adjacent the feed-run of the apron between which and said apron the fiber-bearing seed is arranged and maintained in a uniform sheet-like form.

3. In a roller-gin, the combination of a ginning-roller and knife-bar, an apron for feeding the ber-bearing seed to the ginningroller and knife-bar in a substantially uniform and separated condition, a backingboard adjacent the feederun of the apron between which and said apron the fiber-bearing seed is arranged and maintained in a uniform sheet-like form, and a screen below the apron throughwhich denuded seed may pass.

4. In a roller-gin, the combination of a ginning-roller and knife-bar, an apron for feeding the fiber-bearing seed to the ginningroller and knife-bar in a substantially uniform and separated condition, a backingboard adjacent the feed-run of the apron between which and said apron the iiberebearing seed is arranged and maintained in a uniform sheet-like form, means for enabling the apron to Vreturn undenuded seed to the ac tion of the ginning-roller and knife, and a screen below the apron through which denuded seed may pass.

5. In a roller cotton-gin, the combination of a ginning-roller and knife-bar, means for feeding fiber-bearing seed in a uniform and substantially separated condition to said roller and knife-bar, and maintaining the seed in yielding contact therewith to enable the fiber to be removed without breaking, and devices for enabling said means to return undenuded seed to the action of the roller and knife.

6. In a roller cotton-gin, the combination of a ginning-roller, and knife-bar, an apron having a run adjacent a portion of said ginning-roller and knife-bar, a backing-board between which and the run of said apron the fiber-bearing seed is arranged and moved in a substantially sheet-like or separated condition so that individual seeds are successively subjected to the action of the ginningroller and knife-bar, and means coperating with said apron to return undenuded seed to the action of the ginning-roller.

7. In a roller cotton-gin, the combination of a source of supply, means for separating and arranging the fiber-bearing seed in sheetlike form as it is delivered from said s'ource of supply, a ginning-roller and knife-bar, and means for maintaining the separated and sheet-like form of the fiber-bearing seed and delivering the same into yielding contact with the ginning-roller so that the separated fiber-bearing seeds areindividually treated.

8. In a roller cotton-gin, the combination of a source of supply, means for separating and arranging the fiber-bearing seed in sheetlike form as it is delivered from said source of supply, a ginning-roller and knife-bar, and means for maintaining the separated and sheet-like form of the fiber-bearing seed and delivering the same into yielding contact with the ginning-roller so that the separated fiber-bearing seeds are individually treated, and devices coperating with a part of said last-mentioned means to return undenuded seed to the action of the ginning-roller.

9. In a roller-gin, the combination of a ginning-roller and knife-bar, an apron for feeding the fiber-bearing seed tothe ginningroller and knife-bar in a substantially uniform and separated condition, a backingboard adjacent the feed-run of the apron between which and said apron the Jriber-bearing seed is arranged and maintained in a uniform sheet-like form, and a screen below the apron through which denuded seed may pass, said screen being supported to swing from normal position to permit the space above the same to be cleaned.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ABNER D. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

J. E. OsBoRNE, D. B. RUSSELL. 

